Dairy Sector – Westland Milk Products reduces coal consumption by 20 per cent

Westland Milk Products has reduced coal consumption at its Hokitika plant by 20 per cent in the 2021-2022 season compared to the previous year.

The company, which is targeting carbon emissions reductions of 12.5 per cent by 2025 and 25 per cent by 2030, will now review those interim targets after achieving a total reduction of 11,000 MT of coal.

Westland CEO Richard Wyeth said the reduction in coal use was a stunning company-wide achievement in the company’s transition to a low-carbon future.

“After launching our sustainability strategy last year, we wanted to set realistic, achievable targets given the limited decarbonisation options open to us on the West Coast,’’ Mr Wyeth said.

“Our staff have really got behind our sustainability strategy and it’s a stunning achievement to achieve these targets so quickly, however, we will continue to be realistic about our goals for the future,’’ Mr Wyeth said.

“While we are firmly committed to the 2037 decarbonisation target for industry, the technology to achieve this is currently not yet available.

“We have limited options to decarbonise energy-intensive food production on the West Coast with a conversion to biomass as fuel currently not cost-effective and requiring four-times the supply chain emissions as coal.’’

Mr Wyeth said reductions in coal use had been achieved by retiring energy-intensive drying equipment, energy savings brought about by better management of winter maintenance work, and better production planning.

Co-investment alongside the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund to reduce emissions through heat loss is expected to drive further emissions reductions in the future.

Westland’s first CSR strategy was released in November last year with its first full-year report of progress against the published initiatives due in 2023.

The result comes after Westland parent company Yili became the first Chinese food industry company to announce its roadmap to a net zero carbon future by 2050, setting targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050. The first Chinese food industry company to launch an annual carbon inventory, Yili has continued assessments for the past 12 years.

This year, Yili, one of the top five dairy companies in the world, established the first net-zero factory in China’s food industry, the first net-zero milk in the country, and the first two “net zero factories” in the Chinese milk powder industry.